Artists know the one - the itch to create, that early urge that often comes, frustratingly, before any kind of fully formed vision.

That was what the New Orleans filmmaker felt when, a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina, he found himself back in town, amid the ruin and searching for some way to corral and commemorate the emotion of it all.

He had connected with old filmmaking friend Zack Godshall, and they bounced around, fixing roofs and doing whatever they could to keep their hands busy while trying to process the magnitude of the damage.

Then Jacobs' phone rang. After he hung up, he knew exactly how he and Godshall would scratch the itch.

Now, two years later, Jacobs and Godshall's independently financed film "Low and Behold" has taken the pair to the Sundance Film Festival -- that indie fest of all indie fests -- and earned a handful of honors from a raft of other festivals, from the Newport Beach (Calif.) Film Festival on the left coast to the Sarasota (Fla.) Film Festival on the right coast.

This weekend, Jacobs brings the film home, as "Low and Behold" screens twice as the winner of the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2007 New Orleans Film Festival.

Filmmaker Barlow Jacobs stars in 'Low and Behold,' a New Orleans Film Festival winner, that has been shown at film festivals around the country.

The call that started it all was from a friend, a guy in the insurance business. He knew how bad things were in New Orleans, he knew that Jacobs probably needed some work, and he had an idea: Why not train to be an insurance claims adjuster? It would take only a few days, and it would help Jacobs earn a few dollars while he sorted out what to do after that paradigm-shifting storm.

Just like that, the idea was born for "Low and Behold," a powerful dramatic comedy that would focus on a greenhorn insurance adjuster stumbling his way through post-Katrina New Orleans. Jacobs' work as an adjuster would give him the background necessary to credibly portray one on-screen. Just as important was the cash the gig would bring.

"My vision was, I was going to go down, learn to be an adjuster to get that experience, and take that money and make the film," Jacobs said last week.

He and Godshall would write the film together, Godshall would direct, and Jacobs would star -- as the insurance adjuster, naturally.

The end result is an at-times disarming film, mixing subtle humor with the devastating and powerful emotions still swirling throughout post-Katrina New Orleans. Shot over five weeks and for about $200,000, the production started just eight months after the storm, resulting in a finished product that contains still-fresh images of storm damage, and one that is certain to strike a chord with local audiences.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, audiences outside the Big Uneasy also seem to get it.

"The audience reaction has been unbelievable," Jacobs said of the film's reception on the festival circuit. "It's been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. There's such a national intrigue in a lot of ways of what's going on in New Orleans, so when something like our film crops up on the film festival circuit, there's a built-in interest."

Jacobs said questions during festival interviews have been split evenly between those about the film and those about the state of the city. That, the Tennessee native and five-year resident of New Orleans said, has presented him with an unexpected opportunity to spread the word about the work that still needs to be done in the city.

"I just assumed people would understand that we're still a long way away from getting back any sort of normalcy in the city," he said. "But people are just blown away. They're like, 'It's a lot better now, though, isn't it?' But we could shoot a lot of those scenes again today.

"It really made me realize that this is sorely underreported nationally."

One of the more interesting elements of "Low and Behold" is Jacobs and Godshall's decision to use real, documentary-style interviews with local residents to transition between scenes. That mix of narrative and documentary filmmaking is unconventional, but it adds raw realism -- and it gave the filmmakers a chance to showcase the only-in-Louisiana characters they encountered.

"We met so many people who had so many amazing stories," Jacobs said.

"One thing that I do hope is really conveyed is the resolve of the people of the city. I think that's one thing you get from all the doc-style interviews, even in (co-star Eddie Rouse's) performance -- you just see a level of hope in these people: 'This is hard, but we're going to make it through this.'¤"

"Low and Behold" will screen twice during the New Orleans Film Festival: Saturday, during a 7 p.m. showcase of festival winners at the Prytania Theatre; and again Tuesday at 9 p.m. at the Contemporary Arts Center. For more, visit the New Orleans Film Festival Web site at www.neworleansfilmfest.com.

NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL

What: A festival of movies and film-related programming, featuring celebrity appearances and a Best of the Fest Awards Ceremony Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Prytania Theatre, continues through Oct. 18.

Tickets: A $200 all-access pass is good for all films at all venues. A $45 ($35 for members) six-film pass is good for all films, except opening night. Regular programs and films are $8, $7 for New Orleans Film Society members; opening-night films at Canal Place are $10. Tickets are available at the box office of each venue daily. Or, for Canal Place screenings visit to www.moviefone.com; for the CAC, go to www.cacno.org; for the Prytania Theatre, call (504)¤891-2787.